Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Feb 26 2021 10:14:24 COLORADO STUDENTS MAKE CONTACT WITH ISS DON/ANCHOR: It was worth waiting for: A contact at last between the ISS and students in Denver, Colorado. Amanda Alden, K1DDN, has those details. AMANDA: After dealing with strict COVID safety guidelines and numerous schedule changes, STEM students from John F. Kennedy High School in Denver, Colorado, finally got the green light for their QSO with Commander Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday, February 24th. The successful telebridge contact was arranged using a relay station in Portland, Oregon with David Payne NA7V as the controller. The last ARISS attempt with a school failed to take place because of technical difficulties. During the 11-minute pass, students were able to ask 20 questions, ranging from the way COVID-19 has impacted space travel to whether any data- collection done in space has helped in an emergency situation on Earth. In late 2019 the JFK school partnered with members of Rocky Mountain Ham Radio and the Cherry Creek Young Amateur Radio Club who mentored the students on the use of amateur radio communications to prepare them for their ARISS contact. To hear the contact, visit YouTube at the link printed in this week's newscast script at arnewsline.org [FOR PRINT ONLY, DO NOT READ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RgszX0npbQ] ** INDIA HOSTS NET IN THE LANGUAGE OF FRIENDSHIP DON/ANCHOR: Friendship has many languages in amateur radio. Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF, tells us about one recent net that celebrated all of them. JIM: Amateur radio operators in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and elsewhere checked into a special 90-minute friendship net held on the 21st of February, marking the UN's declaration of International Mother Language Day. The more than 100 check-ins came throughout Asia as well as Mexico, Ukraine and the United States via EchoLink while those in the Kolkata, India region connected through the local VHF repeater. The net had been organised by the Amateur Radio Society of Bangladesh and the West Bengal Radio Club as a celebration of cultural and linguistic diversity. The United Nations created International Mother Language Day in 2000 in the hopes of fostering multilingualism and a general appreciation for other languages. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF. ** MULTI-LINGUAL HAM HANDBOOK GOES ONLINE DON/ANCHOR: Speaking of languages, which one do YOU speak? An online project by a YL in Russia has helped hams make their QSOs a little more multi-lingual. Ed Durrant, DD5LP, tells us more. ED: Radio communication needs language as much as it needs good equipment in the shack and now many of the languages of amateur radio are more accessible than ever. A guidebook written 40 years ago by two brothers in Finland - Jukka (YOOKA) OH2BAD and Miika (MEEKA) OH2BR – has been converted into an online interactive guidebook, with the brothers' permission. Raisa R1BIG, a popular YL in Russia well-known for videos of her amateur radio journey, told Newsline she and a friend who is an IT specialist created the online guide over the course of the past few weeks. She said she was inspired by the brothers' original handbook, "The Radio Amateur's Conversation Guide," which Jukka (YOOKA) had shared with her two years ago. With one mouse-click you can now read and hear almost 200 ham radio phrases. Eight languages are available on the site, and more are in the works, including the next one - Polish, being recorded by Darek, SP3TLJ. Raisa herself recorded the Russian-language entries and Pete, M0PSX, is working on a new version of the English language sound files. Although English is still the predominant language heard on the bands, imagine being able to call "CQ 20 metres" or ask "When did you first get your licence?" in Japanese or German. A link to the online guide can be seen in the printed version of this week's newscast script at arnewsline.org For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Ed Durrant, DD5LP (please repeat this in German, Ed!) [FOR PRINT, DO NOT READ: https://raisa.blog/how-to/the-radio-amateur-s-conversation-guide] (RAISA, R1BIG) --- SBBSecho 3.13-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (618:250/33) .